Fun in the summertime

Wow, summer is so much fun! Even though I meant to put some new stuff here, there were barbecues, vacations, out-of-town guests and walks through Central Park. We have had a great month in the magazines with People StyleWatch featuring our new Chunky Necklace and the ever-popular Potato Chip Earrings. The necklace is lightweight hand-poured resin and comes in 2 colors. If you act fast, we've got a promo code where you can save 20% and of course, if you spend $75 or more the shipping is free.

So, what  is your  favorite summer hideaway? One of mine is Lake George, N.Y. where you can stay in the Sagamore Hotel. It's on an island in the lake, and you have the cool fresh water at your feet. Of course, there is a great staff to bring you drinks and snacks while you are enjoying the view, and lots of restaurants and activities if you are so inclined. We always rent a motor boat to cruise the waters and explore some of the little teeny islands that dot the lake everywhere.  

Fort Ticonderoga, New York



We also visited Fort Ticonderoga, namesake of the famous Dixon Ticonderoga Pencil. They have a museum in town devoted to the (long gone) graphite industry and the Dixon mines and factories that made this pencil years ago. 

We were delighted they have a few advertising and promotional pieces designed by my father when Dixon was his account. His drawings of the fort and revolutionary war hero Ethan Allen were right there, and the ladies running the museum were very happy we told them our stories about how these pieces were created.

When I got home, we received news from Japan that one of their hottest magazines, Classy Wedding, was featuring Roberta Chiarella Jewelry.

The diamond cut CZ is a real wedding favorite and is a hot seller in Japan, so it was great to see it on the cover. It gave me an idea to feature it and offer a discount, it's not every day we get Japanese magazine coverage, although Japan is our second biggest market and we ship there nearly every day.

Another great CZ earring, the Perfect Stud, was featured in Good Housekeeping. This dazzling earring is always in demand and is an unbelievable buy at $28! You've got to check out People StyleWatch, we've had such a great feature in this magazine with the Chunky Necklace and to top it off we are running a special promotion with them to offer 20% savings with the People StyleWatch promo code. This is a must-read for summer and belongs in your tote bag when you go to the beach or the park.

You'll want to relax and go slow in the hot weather we've been having, and sometimes a simple white outfit is the best thing to wear. But, to look good on hot summer nights you need some summery accessories, and we've got them all for you. Resin jewelry is bright, light and easy to own. You can check out the featured Trend RC2 collection and lots of other great pieces at robertachiarella.com. Please sign up for the mailing list and you'll get a weekly email with specials and features. Have a great summer! Ciao.

The August place to be!

In our family, that means SARATOGA! The race track is probably one of the prettiest in the country, and both women and men are expected to dress up for the races, so it's my kind of place.

The women even wear hats, not that you'd see me in one! Years ago it was only open for August, some of the richest people in the world had a mansion somewhere nearby in upstate New York so as to attend the Whitney stakes and get out of overheated Manhattan for the month.

Now, the track is open almost 2 months, and the town is lively and filled with restaurants and fun things to do. There are art galleries, and lots of little boutiques, and I even bought a pair of earrings! It's hard to even think about jewelry when the buy one, get one free has been doing so well- we even added 2 more weeks thanks to the great response. One person was stocking up and bought 6 items and got 6 free 'pony balls' for her hair (or perhaps her friends hair as well).

We saw real ponies at the track, or tracks as there is also a harness race track in Saratoga that now has (Yippee!) slot machines and gaming. For me, it's a family tradition to go to the harness race track and have dinner at the track-side restaurant. Unlike regular horse racing, harness racing is unpredictable and my betting strategy is to bet on the cutest horse!

Then, after dinner, it's off to play for a while and then go to the racetrack again the next day. At Saratoga, they walk the horses in a beautiful park and you can see them up close, then watch the jockey get on and go off to race. Sometimes, if the horse is really jumpy or nervous I figure they are in a hurry to get back to the stables so that's the horse who will win. I know, not much of a strategy, butit works once in a while.

Mom and Roberta at Lake George

So, if you are in the mood for a little get-away, check out this beautiful town, and the nearby attractions like Lake George. We've been coming here since we were kids, here's a picture to prove it!

The lake is beautiful, the water fresh and cold. Considering all the heat in New York, a break from the weather does wonders. Please don't think I've stopped shipping, after the fantastic response to all our new friends on the "O" list, the Oprah customers are enjoying their purchase, and there is still a (small) backlog for some colors.

People have really enjoyed the RC2 Brava Bib Necklace, and the Dolcetti necklace is an unbelievable hit, we've just received another shipment from the factory and these are already mostly spoken for. Necklaces are big this summer, so we added some more to the "get one free" part of the website. I keep looking at the Millifiore and the La Luna Necklaces and think, WOW these are good buys!

One of the fun things we do at

robertachiarella.com is play with the selection of free gifts, adding things daily or giving people a special treat, at either 'under $25' or as the free gift you can't go wrong. Our postage meter is on it's second ink cartridge, the packages are flying out the door, and it's 6:00 so time to go out to eat.

 There's a great mexican 'super trendy' restaurant called 'dos caminos' and my brother is waiting so I can't be late. Ciao!